Guest Blog By: Mandy Fischer of LocalMed.
Was one of your New Year resolutions for 2018 to improve your marketing strategy and bring in record numbers of new patients?
If it was, but you’re not entirely sure where to begin – we have some suggestions for you! These 5 action points can help you decide where to focus your time and effort this year in order to take your marketing to the next level.
- Take advantage of peer-sharing groups.
If you’re looking for a sure-fire way to expand your marketing toolkit this year that requires nothing but your time and effort, check out and get involved in the groups that already exist for your benefit on social media.
There are dozens of groups and forums out there where dentists, office managers, consultants and marketing professionals are discussing best practices, what works and what doesn’t. Make it your mission to find at least one group that you can contribute and ask questions in this year!
2. Audit your digital presence.
Google yourself, and check out the first few pages of results. Make sure that your practice’s name, phone number, address, email address, web address and doctor’s name are all correct on every listing. If it isn’t – make a note of it, and fix it ASAP. If there’s differing information, you’re doing significant harm to your brand and likely losing potential patients.
Your digital presence is there to build trust with potential patients, and if you’re providing conflicting information, they’re just going to choose a different dentist.
3. Be strategically social with your patients.
Take a critical look at your social media strategy. Are your posts engaging people, or is nobody looking? Make it your mission to post relevant, fun, personable information that will make people WANT to come to your office! One of your most valuable assets is your branding – and that includes your social voice!
Post authentic photos of you and your staff having fun in the office, or happy patients (make sure to comply with HIPAA law) – and stay away from posting anything clinical that will scare away patients (i.e. a before and after of teeth whitening is fine, but a patient being prepped for implants is not!).
- Diagnose your overall brand health.
Your brand includes your visual assets, your brand voice and your customer experience. Evaluate your office’s current efforts, and come up with a specific plan for improvement.
Some questions you can ask to diagnose how you’re doing:
- What are your reviews saying? Do you have any reviews? Are they old or negative?
- What is your social media interaction like? Is your social brand voice unique and engaging?
- What’syour marketing materials look like? Do you have a library of mismatched assets that could be attributed to any dental practice? Do you have a brand guide that establishes standard fonts, colors and voice?
- What are the common complaints or comments patients have made in regards to your calls, procedures or marketing? Ask your staff. What can you do to make their experience even better!
- Close the loop on your marketing.
In addition to the tasks above, make sure you have a comprehensive marketing strategy in place. Facebook ads, direct mailers, referrals and ground marketing are all great ways of getting the word about your practice out.
But how do you convert leads into patients? If it’s by phone call only, or an “online request”, it’s time to upgrade to a better system.
Real-time online scheduling is the missing piece that closes the loop on your patient acquisition process. Enable patients to schedule an appointment with your office from wherever they find you, like your website, Google, Facebook, HealthGrades, Yelp, etc.
By giving patients the option of booking their appointment on the their own time, you can significantly increase your conversion rate on your current marketing efforts, meaning more patients in your door without needing to add any additional marketing strategies.
AUTHOR: Mandy Fischer
Marketing Coordinator for Local Med
Thank you to our guest blogger this month! We had a wonderful response a few months ago when Mandy wrote for us. We appreciate LocalMed and all they do to get patients scheduled even when you are not there to answer the phone call.
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